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Quetta shura does not exist: Rehman Malik

* Interior minister says Pakistan still considering Waziristan options * Hafiz Saeed has been interrogated over Mumbai attacks

LONDON: Rejecting US complaints that the Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Omar were operating from Quetta, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said there is no “Quetta shura” in Pakistan.

“Over and again this topic has been coming up. But according to us the Quetta shura does not exist in Quetta,” he said. “What we are requesting the US and the UK and all other stakeholders is to please give us real-time information. If you know that they are present you must be knowing their names, details ... if there is any sign of Quetta shura, we will smash it,” he added.

Undecided: The interior minister told an interviewer Pakistan has yet to decide whether it should launch a full-scale military operation in the Waziristan region. However, he added, Islamabad would take whatever action was needed to flush out the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan. “We are undertaking targeted action on Baitullah Mehsud’s group,” Malik said. “Whether we really need a real good big operation like Swat in North Waziristan, in South Waziristan, we are considering it and at the appropriate time we are going to take action,” he added.

The interior minister said he was confident Pakistan had broken the back of the Pakistani Taliban, however he noted the bombings would likely continue until the Taliban in the Tribal Areas were dealt with. “Let’s not forget, it’s not only the TTP which is operating there. There is also Al Qaeda and proscribed organisations,” he said. “We have broken the back of the Taliban but what about the main handler which is Al Qaeda?”

Under investigation: To questions, Malik said Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Punjab-based Laskhar-e-Tayyaba militant group blamed for last year’s attack on Mumbai, would be arrested if there was sufficient evidence against him. India believes Saeed masterminded the assault on Mumbai and has been incensed by what it sees as Pakistan’s failure to act more quickly against him. “I assure you that we are on it, and also Hafiz Saeed has been included in the investigation of the Mumbai attack,” Malik said. “He has already been interrogated. Yes, been interrogated. He is now being investigated.”

However, Malik reiterated that Islamabad needed evidence that would stand up in court and urged New Delhi to respect Pakistan’s courts. He said India had been slow in handing over information, including what he said was a four-month delay in providing the confession of the lone surviving gunman from the Mumbai attack.

Pakistan has already put seven men on trial over the attacks and Malik said he was confident they would be convicted, the Reuters news agency added.

Separately, the interior minister told a private TV channel that security forces had flushed out the Taliban from Malakand in a record time of three months, the APP news agency reported. To questions on international aid for Pakistan, Malik said the international community has asked Pakistan to do more in the past, adding “Now we are asking the international community to do more for us.” agencies

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